Crystals in the Dark: Working Title
by Naomi Wiflath
Summary: The trio has been trapped for years, waiting for the day that they will be freed to destroy the gathering evil. All the incarnations know that the time is approaching, and timing is crucial!
1. Chapter 1: Demon in My View

Crystals in the Dark: Working Title

By: Naomi Wiflath

Chapter 1: Demon in my View

Footsteps echoed deep underground, in a dark and dank cavern. The air was stagnant and old, and kept at a very cool temperature. The stalagmites and stalactites scattered like jagged monsters teeth. The constant drip of water like drool from its mouth. Little pools carved by the water into stone, containing small golden fish with no eyes. Long antennae like appendages that are alittle longer then the fishes body, lay just below them. The tips glow a brilliant neon gold, making the tiniest disturbance a brilliant show of shooting stars.

The little fish do not fret about their inability to see, for they have never known such a sense. And what good would it be, to a creature that lives its life by complete and utter darkness? Only time knew their secret. And so they live on, feeling and sensing their little worlds. Oblivious to what their home possessed.

The footsteps became closer, reverberating off the dark stone walls. The fish scattered in a flurry of stars before hiding at the bottom of their perfectly smooth pools. They remained stone still, waiting for the danger to leave.

The bombardment of sound against their little bodies continued, getting louder and louder. The danger was here. But where, but where? So startled they were that none could make heads or tails of what was going on. The footsteps stopped, yet they remained still. What ever it was, had a presence so sinister, that even the foulest creatures cower.

There was a movement in the dark, before the cavern was violently bombarded by a strange sensation. It was light. A flame. That was held in the open palm of a man. The reddish fire churned in the air, fed by magic. The dark light illuminated its owner, yet painted him with dark shadows. Eyes like blue ice pierced the shadows, spotting a spider with skin as clear as glass scurry quickly up the wall. And the black gecko like creature, standing still like a statue while its eye shine betrayed it.

The mans pale skin was colored by the ruby light, his silver hair shimmering in the changing light. A cruel grin accented by perfectly white fangs. He wore black leather, accenting his impressive build. His muscle shirt looked to be made of any average leather, but felt and wore like the highest quality fabric. It was made of hellhound hide. The same went for his pants, perfectly fitting. His steel toe boots were as black as the rest of his clothes, with three silver buckles on each. All had the strength of mithril mail, and all made naught a sound when he walked. He was a shadow, and a shadow was he.

The man continued forward, deeper into the earths mighty jaws. The ruby flame painting the walls with crimson light. He continued forward without fear, the cave widening into a gigantic cavern. A blue glow illuminated it fairly well from the far side. The man distinguished his flame with a clench of his fist, and slowly walked toward the light.

After weaving through the gigantic stalagmites, he came upon three gigantic crystals They were what glowed and provided the light.

The crystals had bloomed from the cavern floor and pierced the ceiling. Blue crystal veins around them ran in the dark rock, also carrying a feint glow. The man couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

"Oh dear, dear Green mother." He said. His voice was cold and sharp. He reached up and ran his fingers along one of the veins. "You're trying to help them, aren't you?" A cruel laugh escaped his lips as he turned his attention to the center crystal. Deep inside it, was a form trapped for over 16 years. It was a woman, in her early twenties. Her eyes were closed in sleep, yet she showed an expression of anger. A deep crack ran through the crystal. The man sighed, and ran a clawed nail along it.

"It seems you know of your situation." He said tauntingly, tracing the crack back and fourth absentmindedly. "I finally found the whereabouts of one of your little pests. Although I'll admit, you all did a good job of hiding them." He started pacing slowly in front of crystals, staring into the occupants inside them. There was a man, in similar likeness of the devious creature before them, and another female. All around the same age, and all his enemy. Trapped in the three monstrous crystals.

"However…" He stopped again before the center crystal. "It seems betrayal is in your midst." He turned his back to them and waved a hand. "I thought you'd like to know. For good times sake." And with a harsh and icy laugh he left them. The laugh reverberating off of the walls in a round of hatred.

The center crystal cracked even more, ever so slightly.


	2. Chapter 2: Sakura Cothan

Crystals in the Dark: Working Title

By: Naomi Wiflath

Chapter 2: Sakura Cothan

The old wood floor creaked under the strain of the weight moving a crossed it. Heavy footsteps added to the dark setting. For it was an old stone and abandoned apartment building, in the town of Kilvarough. It has been abandoned for a couple years after the owner became bankrupt. Now the building lay empty, owned and remembered by no one. Well, no. That was a lie. For other than the rats in the cellar and the bats in the attic, there was a recent addition to the apartment. And that addition just happens to have come back for the night.

The occupant climbed up the wooden stairs with quickness, turning around a corner and marching quickly down the hall. They came to the end door, and fished out a skeleton key from a black jean pocket. The lick grunted as it was forcefully turned, the mechanism finally yielding entry. With a glimmer of long dark chocolate hair she stepped inside and quickly shut the door. The room was hardly what you'd call homely, but it worked. The girl kicked off black shoes, and threw a long dark trench coat on a bent nail next to the door. This revealed a seventeen year old teenager, wearing black pants and a red sweater. The sweater dawned an alchemic circle on the front, and black wings printed on the back. Her pale and almost blemish less skin contrasted with her dark and thick hair. Hazel eyes with striking blue flecks surveyed the pathetic little apartment that she now called home.

It was small and a cozy size. A simple metal frame bed sat with its head against the wall. Next to it was a small nightstand, and to that the door to the bathroom. On the left wall was the only window, covered by a grubby black cloth. The sky you could see was dark of the coming night. There was also a small dressier. On the right wall, an out of date countertop and some cabinets, as well as a kitchen sink. There was also an electric stove and oven. The floors are all wood, and twice as cold in the fall and winter season. Snow was to be expected soon, and the girl really didn't know what she would do then.

The girl walked over and flopped onto her bed. She opened the drawer on the night stand and got a match, using it to light the wax candle.

She pulled the old feather comforter around her and held up her left hand to the light. On her ring finger, lay a simple hematite band. She got it sometime when she was little, and has always had it since. On her index finger, a dark green snake curled around it. Ruby eyes glinting intelligently in the light.

"Hello Sning, I'm sorry I couldn't talk earlier." At the sound of her voice, the snake changed. It turned a brighter green, and slowly coiled off of her finger and into her palm, which she turned to hold him. He held his head up and looked to her, flicking his tongue.

"It's fine." Sning replied. The girl sighed and pulled the blankets closer. The building had electricity as well as running water, but there was just something about candlelight. Too bad there was no heat.

"Well, at least we can talk more freely." The girl said. The snake nodded.

"It was good luck that we found this place." The snake said, flicking its tail before curling up in the center of her palm to keep warm.

"I know. Unbelievable that it worked out, isn't it?"

They continued talking for a while, before Sning wanted to rest. So he took his place back on her finger, and the girl got up and grabbed a book. The original occupant of the home had a nice little collection of books, including two whole series. She was working on 'Incarnations of Immortality' at the present.

The girl was known as Sakura Cothan, an orphan at birth. Was put under the care of Mrs. Nin Smith. A vain old woman who often gave Sakura a look of distaste. Once Sakura found out Sning's secret, she was delighted. Finally having someone to talk to. It got lonely in a big old house withy nothing but an old bat for a mother. However, not long ago, Nin heard Sakura talking to Sning. Mrs. Nin went mad, screaming that Sakura was possessed with the devil. Sakura was immediately kicked out to fend for herself. She was lucky to find this building, for she doubted there were many abandoned buildings with running heat and water.

Sakura knew nothing of her real family and parents. All she had was a tattered and torn picture of whom she supposed to be her father. The image was ripped in half, yet still had a perfect picture of the man. He was tall and hansom, with dark wavy hair that was pulled pack in a ponytail. He wore a trench coat, over a tribal silver button up shirt and black jeans. He did not smile, but had sharp icy blue eyes. The back of the photo had something written on it, but long ago became illegible.

Yawning, she looked at her watch. One A.M. Bedtime. She set down 'On A Pale Horse' before snuggling under all the covers. With a quick breath, she blew out the candle, and sought sleep in the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3: Luke Cothan

Crystals in the Dark: Working title

By: Naomi Wiflath

Chapter 3: Luke Cothan

The computer screen gave the dark room its only source of light, easily being engulfed in the dark fabrics and walls. A figure sat before it, completely engrossed in what ever he was doing. Furious tapping along with mumbled curses were the only noises to break the late night silence.

The house was fairly large and exuberant, the owner extremely wealthy. The yard around the house was enclosed by a wrought iron fence, the space in-between guarded by highly trained griffons. Inside the mansion, another stirred in the kitchen. The light was on, and a man with sandy colored and spiky hair sat on a wooden stool. He glanced through his yellow tinted glasses at the oven, where a pepperoni and sausage pizza cooked. He was tall and skinny, wearing a plaid shirt and kaki pants. Grey eyes stared lazily around the kitchen, outfitted with the latest appliances.

A ping signaled that the pizza was done. After carefully taking it out and cutting it, he threw half of it onto a dinner plate, and made his way up the stairs. He stopped at a door with a yellow sign on it that warned 'Dragon X'ing' on it. The man laughed to himself and opened the door, unsurprised to find the room almost completely dark.

"Hey Luke, want some pizza?" the man asked, flipping on the light. The person known as Luke hissed and covered his eyes.

"Zoz! Why so cruel?" The teenager whined. Zoz shrugged.

"I just thought you needed the light to eat, so you can find your mouth." Luke snorted.

"Whatever." He snatched a piece of pizza and blew on it so it would cool.

"Playing maple again, eh?" Zoz asked, leaning on the door frame. Luke nodded.

"My character is level 96, I'm a badass." Luke said, before stuffing his face and getting crumbs of crust everywhere. Zoz could even have sworn that he saw a piece of sausage bounce to the floor. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Try not to cause trouble." Luke said jokingly before setting the plate of pizza down on the desk next to the monitor. "There's more pizza down stairs." Luke replied with a nod before turning his attention once again to the computer screen. Zoz left, closing the door behind him. Luke grabbed a Dew from the mini fridge beside the desk, and opened it with a crack. He spun around in a circle in his rolly chair, catching a blurry glimpse of his room.

The floor had a grey carpet, and was fairly large. His waterbed sat in the corner, covered with a black comforter dawning silver tribal dragons in a fierce battle. On the other wall was a black leather couch, and a flat screen TV. The walls were painted with murals of dragons and tribal flames in black.

Luke's full name was Lucas Draco Cothan. Although he knew nothing of his family, Luke was content with where he was now. When he was young he was adopted by the rich computer networks administrator Zoz Anthony. Looking surprisingly young for his age, Zoz was actually in his late thirties. Luke was seventeen, and had a kind of affinity towards dragons. He wondered if it was because of his namesake, but would throw the notion out the window. Only traditionalist believed in stuff like that.

His eyes were Icy blue, with flecks of brownish gold and green. His hair had a natural curl to it, so it was always cut short and spiked like Zoz's. He wore a black sweater and black jeans. On his right ring finger sat a simple hematite ring. Unsure where it came from, Zoz said it was on a chain around his neck. Along with a tiger sharks tooth necklace with silver metal beads along it.

Luke took the plate, where the pizza had been and went down stairs. He grabbed the other half of the pizza before going outside. Not too far from the house was a stable, made to house many creatures. Luke's breath made the full moon night hazy. He quickly covered the distance to the barn with long strides, thanks to his long legs and incredible height. He was at least 6ft 2.

He came to a door on the side, and quickly went inside. He was met by a pleasant warmness from the barns heater. It was necessary in the colder months for the animals. Especially for Onyx.

A low rumble that shook the windows was actually a happy greeting to Luke. Luke found himself in a large room, lined with thick piles of hay. In the corner was a large dragon. His black scales shined in the light like black crystals. Luke smiled and nodded. Onyx let a puff of smoke escape his nostrils as he watched Luke come to him. Luke sat down in the hay, leaning against the large lizard's foreleg. The Dragon easily stood taller then Luke at the shoulders, and was still a formidable height lying down. He had a slender and elegant, yet powerful build. Like a bulldozer that could fly. Onyx watched Luke intelligently with emerald reptilian eyes. Great ebon horns sprouted from the back of his skull, framing an elegant crest of feathers that laid down against his head. Onyx snorted again before licking the side of Luke's head with a forked tongue.

"Hey now." Luke replied, holding a piece of pizza. He wiped the side of his face with his free hand, then smiled.

"Hey boy, you want a snack?" The dragon emitted a pleased growl from deep in its throat. Luke laughed and tossed the piece of pizza into the air. The dragons head shot of and snapped it out of the air, like a heron hunting fish. Ivory fangs flashed for a second before disappearing in the dragons closed maw.

Luke sighed before leaning back against the beast, who opened his feathery wings for a good stretch. He patted the dragon's side affectionately.

"How bout tomorrow we have a good fly, whatta ya say?" Onyx rumbled again, as close to a purring sound a dragon to get.


	4. Chapter 4: Zach MikoRyo

Crystals in the Dark: Working Title

By: Naomi Wiflath

Chapter 4: Zach MikoRyo

The flame sputtered into life, engulfing the piece of computer paper quickly. The glow lit up the eyes of the creator, making them sparkle in an odd glee. However it quickly left as the fire soon ran out of fuel, causing it to die away into a quick wisp of smoke. The person holding the paper looked at the charred ends with dismay, as if something incredibly valuable had been stolen away.

This person was indeed, a 16 year old teenager boy. He was garbed in blue jeans and a black shirt which said in bold white lettering 'I'm really excited to be here." His hair was short, spiky, and rusty red. His eyes were a calm and tranquil green, making him appear incredibly relaxed.

His name was Zack MikoRyo, and was also abandoned as an infant. He was taken into the humble home of Leena Sala Kizu. It was an awkward adoption, for few Dralkar wanted a human child. None the less, she direly wanted a child. Any child at all.

The Dralkar were a people that looked like wildcats standing on their hind legs. Anthro style. Leena happened to be patterned similar to a snowy leopard, with long silver fir that fell around her face, similar to that of a humans. He often had it pulled back in a long braid that hit against the base of her tail.

Dralkar came to earth about fifty years ago, and it is just now that both races treat each other equally. But even now there are racial differences between some radicalists.

Zack thought Leena had been a wonderful mother, and held her with the highest respect. And also spoiled him just enough that he wouldn't go rotten. They were like best friends more then mother and adopted son. Zack felt fortunate.

She even dealt with his odd tendencies, which she passively tried to work him out of. However, the pyro phase has yet to die off.

"Zack! What are you up to in there?" Leena called up the stairs. Zack winced, for his mother had an _excellent_ sense of smell. He quickly crumpled up the paper and threw it away, along with the used matches.

"Nothing!" He lied, although he knew it was pointless. The leopardess stepped into the room, and put her hands/paws (Zack never knew what to call them) on her hips.

"Burning again, Zack?" She said, her tail swaying gently side to side with a slight jingle from the gold bracelets on it. She wore a tan fitted t-shirt and black jean shorts. Her whiskers twitched slightly in annoyance of the smell, yet she said nothing about her discomfort.

Zack bit his lip and nodded, following it with pulling out the box of matches and handing it to her. He knew not to fight with his feline mother, for she was scary when riled up. And as with every other cat, she still had her fangs and claws. Although he had never seen her use them to do harm.

She took the box, still looking down at him with golden eyes. Her body was very toned and muscular, despite the fact that she didn't lift weights or anything. Not to mention she was around thirty six years old. Leena looked nothing of it.

They stayed in silence in Zack's room for a moment, before Leena broke into a smile. She ruffled his hair and gave him a furry kiss on the cheek.

"That's m'boy. Don't worry, we'll break you out of this."

"Yeah." Zack replied quietly, giving a small smile back.

When his mother left, he got up and flopped into his full sized bed, face first. He felt bad, for he didn't even use the matches this time. He used magic.

He'd been practicing fire magic for a month now, and it was only recently that he was able to conjure up a flame. However his abilities were severally limited to tiny little flames that would only come to light with sufficient kindling.

Zack stared into the dark comforter, tired suddenly. So he rolled the other two sides of it around him and was soon asleep for the night.


	5. Chapter 5: First Blood Shed

Crystals in the Dark: Working Title

By: Naomi Wiflath

Chapter 5: First Blood Shed

**Sakura**

Sakura got up the next day, starting to establish a new daily routine, and set out to look for a job. She had only taken a thousand dollars out of her account before the old bat Nin froze her account. So she needed a job, and soon.

The day progressed slowly as the job search went on. Finally she found a promising start at a bookstore about five blocks from her own 'home'. It was dusk by the time she started home from her last stop, an appliance store that turned her down bluntly. The weather was cold and simply glum. Sakura walked down a narrow alleyway between blocks, trying to get to the back road where her own building was.

SQUEEZ!

Sakura was stopped in her tracks and looked on her hand. Sning never usually communicated that way any more, and was somewhat startled.

"Sning, what is it?" she asked, not worried about anyone overhearing her. There was no one in the pathetic and grubby alleyway. Sning merely gave another great squeeze in alarm. Sakura know not to take Sning's warnings lightly, so she quickened her pace to get out onto the larger road. She could see the street lamps flickering on from the alley, and was eager to get to the safety of the light.

"Caw!" Sakura jumped a foot into the air before whirling around. There on the ground, sat a crow. He let out another 'Caw!', before jumping into flight. Sakura stood there and watched it rise up out of the alleyway. The stone walls of the buildings seemed to close in on her.

Sning squeezed her finger again, reminding her that something was amiss. So quickly she turned again and started out of the dirty alleyway. It was over a block long, and she managed to get halfway without incident. Suddenly she was hit with an enormous force on her right shoulder that was so strong, it threw her to the ground. Before she could even register what was happening she was picked up by the back of her shirt and tossed clear out of the alleyway. Not a soul was on the back street when she crashed through a cracked windowpane in an old house. She skidded across the outdated floor with the glass, leaving smears of blood. Sakura was completely dazed and lost in a confused whirl of pain.

"Sakura! Sakura!" Sning hissed forcefully from her hand. He cursed in snake tongue before completely coming to life and slithering up to her ear.

"Get up! You must get up! You must get out of here now!" Sning said again urgently. Sakura stirred, opening her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Her whole body hurt, cut by shards of glass. Some of it was imbedded in her back as well as her head. Her worse injury was her right shoulder. She managed to move her head to glance at it.

A deep slash that bled freely onto the floor. Sakura's mind was still in a fog, stupidly staring at her own pooling blood. Slowly she grasped together important facts.

She was now lying sideways on her injured shoulder, not quite feeling the pain that she should have been feeling. This left her vaguely puzzled.

_I was in the alleyway… then Sning warned me… the bird… then…? I was attacked?_

She grabbed the realization of the fact that something attacked her, why and who were more mysteries to ponder later. She had to get out of here, and get help, or she would bleed to death here. Sakura rolled onto her back, sending a jolt of pain up her spine and through her arm. She hissed through clenched teeth.

"I know it will be hard, but we must leave quickly. He is coming." Sning said urgently, now curled up on her nose. He must have moved there while she was blinded by her pain.

"What's going on… who..." it was almost a struggle to find her ability to speak and voice her bubbling questions.

"No matter." The snake replied firmly. "Now is not the time. Quickly, get to your feet." With that he slithered down and onto her left hand. His cool scales had felt nice on her face. Sakura slowly and carefully got to her feet. She knew to heed Sning's warning; he was very wise for a magical ring.

She wobbled on her feet for a moment, grabbing a countertop to keep balance. Carefully, she stepped forward towards the broken window. She only saw a flash of light before slipping backwards on the wet linoleum. She fell hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her.

Just seconds later an orb of pure energy shot through the broken window and into the back kitchen wall. It exploded on contact, destroying the house completely. Debris shot like daggers through nearby buildings, which seemed eerily empty.

A smile crept over his lips, making him look even more undoubtedly cruel. Pieces of wood scattered all the way to his feet. The hellhound hide protected him from the little heat there was form the explosion.

"Gotten alittle trigger happy now haven't we, Katagen?"

The man in black turned around, his long silver hair danced around like metal flames.

"Father of Lies! How good it is to see you!" Karigan exclaimed in mocking respect and surprise. "How good it is to see you! How long has it been?"

The father of lies looked no more then like a middle aged man with all the hair still on his head. He dawned a pinstripe suite, and had red tinged skin. The only real difference was the small horns barely sprouting from his forehead. Small licks of steam curled off them, indicating that the creature was not in a pleasant mood.

"So eager to pick off their children so soon?" The creature replied smoothly. His eyes burned with absolute displeasure. Katagen raised a brow, amused.

"Oh? I thought you would agree on my little spree. After all, one as powerful as I sometimes gets bored." His attention turned to a crow that hopped back and fourth, cawing bitterly. With a flick of his fingers, it disintegrated; leaving nothing but a few stray feathers. The creature hissed, flames licking his sharp teeth as he spoke.

"Do not think that you are now an equal. I suggest you leave them be before you do something else stupid."

"Oh no." Katagen held up his hands. "Of course not. Infact…" He started to circle the king of the underworld, a smug grin on his face. "I feel that I am superior."

Steam feathered off the reddish skin, like he was being cooked from the inside out by his absolute rage.

"You indeed are going into my realm Katagen! And mark my words! I'll save the hottest pit for you!" He disappeared in a plume of black smoke. Katagan smiled deviously, knowing all the well that he had just invoked the wrath of the king of the underworld.

He turned back to the crumbling home, where a few sparse fires have broken out. His ice eyes saw perfectly fine in the almost complete darkness. Everything in the area was drenched in the suns crimson light. Katagen smiled. One down, two to go.


End file.
